Adam's Bridge, also known as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu, is a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known
as Rameswaram Island, off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and
Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. Geological evidence
suggests that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri
Lanka. The bridge is 50 km long and separates the Gulf of Mannar
(south-west) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry
and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 1 to 10 metres deep in
places, which hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to
the 15th century until storms deepened the channel: temple records seem to
say that Adam's Bridge was completely above sea level until it broke in a
cyclone in 1480.

Our tour around the world in 2018 focuses over Adam's Bridge today, which connects India and Sri Lanka. The aim of these images acquired by Landsat 5 and 8 in 2006 and 2018, is to show the remnants of this land bridge that connected India and Sri Lanka.

Until 1480, Sri Lanka and India were connected by a land bridge called Adam's Bridge, which made it possible to move easily from one country to
another. This natural bridge was destroyed by a terrible cyclone. Since then, even ships can no longer transit in that stretch of sea, known as the Strait of
Palk, in the Indian Ocean, because the seabed is too low. But now, after centuries, this thin strip of land has re-emerged from the water, forming many
small islands and sand banks and changing the geography of Asia.

Another aim of these images is to promote the opportunity to download Landsat data through the ESA portals (or third party mission free catalogue), where images captured every day are made available in near real time to the users and the scientific community.

Landsat full resolution data products are freely available for immediate download at: